On a Friday evening at sunset, the Turners rest momentarily as they wait for guests to arrive in their Carrollton home.

They have prepared all day for this — cleaning, setting up chairs and filling the room with fresh flowers.

One by one, each guest files in, greeting each other with a warm, “Shabbat shalom.”

As the last one enters, they all take their seats facing a portable arc holding the Torah and join in a welcoming chorus of “Shalom Aleichem.”

For nearly three years, Cantor Patti Turner and her husband, Ray, have transformed their living room into a synagogue every Friday night and Saturday morning for the members of Ner Tamid, a Jewish reform congregation.

However, in a few weeks, the congregation will move to Lewisville, where it has rented nearly 1,000 square-feet of space on the third floor of Hebron Office Plaza off Hebron Parkway.

The relocation will mark a historic first for the city.Nearby Congregation Kol Ami in Flower Mound has been in the area since 1978, but when Congregation Ner Tamid begins worship in its new space, it will become the first synagogue in Lewisville.

Bradley Laye, chief operating officer for the Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas, said as Dallas continues to grow, more Jews have moved further from the city limits into northern suburbs such as Lewisville, Flower Mound and Denton.

“The base of the historic Jewish community in Dallas is in Dallas … so this would be a nice addition of services in the far northern suburbs of Dallas,” Laye said of Ner Tamid’s relocation to Lewisville.

A sense of permanency

For nearly 30 years, the congregation met in various rental spaces, but the last five years have been spent worshipping in members’ homes.

The new space in Lewisville will give the congregation its own home where it can adorn walls with Jewish artifacts that have been collecting dust in storage. An arc, handmade by a past member, will also be set up to hold the Torah.

Patti said she will miss leading services in her home each week, but believes the new space will give a sense of permanency that will grow awareness and bring new membership to the 35-family congregation.

“It will allow us to grow, have a home of our own and be able to provide more opportunities for our congregation,” she said.

Its location off I-35E and the Sam Rayburn Tollway will also make the new location more accessible to current and prospective members — especially members who live in Lewisville and Denton — congregation president Randy Friedberg said.

Congregation member Jessica Miller of northwest Carrollton said she will welcome the additional space that the new location provides.

“If we get 12 or 15 people here, it gets cramped,” Miller said of meeting in the Turner home.

Making the move

Friedberg said they hope to have the new location complete and obtain a certificate of occupancy so that the congregation can hold Second Night Seder, a feast commemorating Passover, in the space March 26. A formal dedication ceremony will likely take place in late April or early May.

“It’s an exciting time for us, obviously. Our congregation is very supportive of the move and they are looking forward to it … because it’s a step forward and we are always looking to move forward,” Friedberg said.

Although the congregation has made its share of moves since its founding in 1984, some things have remained constant. Charter members Jessica Miller and her husband, Cary, have worshipped with the congregation since its inception. Jessica’s homemade challah has always been blessed and served at each Oneg, a gathering with refreshments after service.

Jessica said she will miss meeting in the Turner home, but believes the warmth and comfort she has felt there will not be lost in the new space.

“It feels like family, but we’ll have that wherever we go,” Jessica said.

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